Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
A case in W City required Mo Han to chair a sudden meeting. After suggesting a strategy to deal with the situation, he walked out of the conference room. Originally, he had wanted to drop off his things and head straight to the police station. He knew some of the officers there. He wanted to ask about the situation regarding the unexpected visitor because he realised that it was the first time he knew so little about somebody at all.
Having worked as a lawyer for so many years, he did not have to wait for somebody to speak before he knew what they were thinking.
And this time, he felt that the girl did not seem simple at all.
However, Liu Zhiyuan had returned before he left the office, where he was poring over some documents.
Mo Han furrowed his eyebrows and walked up to his desk. “Why were you so quick?”
Lin Zhiyuan immediately stood up respectfully when he saw his boss approach him. “Barrister Mo, she snuck off before we reached the police station.”
“Snuck off?”
“Not long after the car started, she complained about having a stomachache and asked to be sent to the washroom.” Liu Zhiyuan whispered, unwilling to look at his boss out of guilt. “She didn’t seem like she was faking it, so I drove to the nearest washroom and waited for her outside.”
“I waited for a long time, but she never came out. I asked people who were passing by to check on her, and they said that there was nobody in the washroom.” He observed that his boss’ displeasure was growing by the minute and his voice was growing softer.
Mo Han stated coldly, “So… you came back alone.”
This expression was usually kept for the moments when he experienced trouble in court, which was definitely not a good sign. He groveled, his head hanging low. “I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay, just continue your work,” Mo Han answered coldly.
The enigmatic girl who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere had disappeared so suddenly. He had nothing to do with her, and he had already gone beyond the call of duty by paying her medical bills. Besides, her family would certainly look for her and bring her home. She was probably a student and had to go back to her studies.
As he was pondering this, he laughed to himself. What did any of this have to do with him? They would likely never meet again. He strode into his own office and started working on another case.
After the girl had snuck out of the cubicle, she walked for a long time. She only dared to stop after seeing that Liu Zhiyuan was nowhere near her. But once she did so, she realized everything around her was unfamiliar.
People moved around in all directions, passing her by, but she did not know a single person. They were smiling and conversing with one another as they brushed past her. At that moment, she felt that she was invisible, that she did not belong to this world. She did not know who she was; she did not even know if anyone had any connections with her.
Earlier, when she had asked the man to take her in, she had been, in fact, shocked to hear it herself. She just wanted to stay next to him no matter what happened. After leaving the hospital, he was the only person she knew to be related to her. In a certain sense, he had saved her life. But she could tell that he was cold. He did not like to interact with strangers. The reason he paid for her hospital fees was only because he didn’t have a choice. She knew it would be impossible for somebody like him to take in a stranger like her.
As she wandered around, she felt her abdomen hurting. She lowered her head and saw blood oozing across her clothes. The rotund man who’d kicked her must’ve ripped open her stitches. The pain grew more and more intense. She winced and hunched over in agony. She needed a fresh change of clothes and some attention to her wound. Moreover, walking along the streets in a hospital gown was attracting too much unwanted attention.
But she had no money. How would she buy clothes? Where could she go?
Her eyes surveyed the surroundings. She finally caught sight of a large commercial building. There must be a staff washroom inside. Maybe she could head there.